A lot of hard work went into the formulation of the governance documents and policies that support the organization. The founding members met often (without the support of technology!) to engage in the foundational work and build the organization from the ground up. This involved liaising with Ontario Women in Law Enforcement (OWLE) and International Association of Women Police (IAWP). OWLE mentored the founding executive through the process to incorporate and to affiliate with the IAWP.
Our Mission Stands Strong Today
A lot of hard work went into the formulation of the governance documents and policies that support the organization. The founding members met often (without the support of technology!) to engage in the foundational work and build the organization from the ground up. This involved liaising with Ontario Women in Law Enforcement (OWLE) and International Association of Women Police (IAWP). OWLE mentored the founding executive through the process to incorporate and to affiliate with the IAWP.
We are a network of women in law enforcement committed to the facilitation of the development and growth of our membership in the Atlantic Region.
One.
Providing an annual forum for training and development.
Two.
Promoting teamwork by fostering professional and inter-agency associations.
Three.
Encouraging supportive relationships within our memberships by promoting a common understanding of issues surrounding women working in the policing environment.
Four.
Responsibly representing the interest of our (general) membership.
Since 1998, a yearly three-day conference has occurred except during 2021 due to the global pandemic. The conferences have been hosted by numerous agencies and in many locations throughout Atlantic Canada.
Early on, there were approximately 150-200 female police officers within the Atlantic Region and in order to invite potential participants, we had to send individual letters directly to the female police officers. We learned early that conference invitations sent to police leaders did not necessarily find their way to the female officers serving in their organizations. The annual membership fee was $25 and monies leftover from our early conferences were used to get the organization off of the ground. The conferences were run on donations and “in-kind” support. We will never forget the contribution made by both RCMP Commissioner Bev Busson and OPP Commissioner Gwen Boniface who travelled to Halifax at their own expense to speak at our first conferences.
OPP Inspector Kate Lines of Behavioural Science Section (Criminal Profiler) also attended a conference and gave a presentation. Canadian Armed Forces Security and Military Police Commandant, Colonel Patricia Samson, was the Keynote Speaker as our Shearwater conference. We were very fortunate to attract this type of support from women holding these key leadership roles. In addition, we had a lot of local talent both professionally and for our evening socials, so we were very creative in our conference design.
Over the years, and with strong leadership from the AWLE executive, the organization has become much more structured. Several steps were made to make the Atlantic Women in Law Enforcement a viable group and respected resource for women in the law enforcement field.
